The materials used to construct this grill are quite good for a grill this size and price. Its small form factor means you can take it pretty much anywhere, as well as clean and store it with no problems. It’s a good choice not only for outdoor activates like camping and tailgating, but also for people who have limited space for a grill, or who don’t want to pay hundreds or thousands of dollars for the power an infrared grill provides.

However, due to its size, it’s relatively low powered – the burner on this grill only produces a maximum of 9,500 Btu, so it takes longer than most other grills to reach an effective cooking temperature. Nevertheless, it distributes heat across its grill plate relatively evenly and maintains a consistent temperature.

Another aspect that makes this grill better than the other tabletop models we reviewed is its larger cooking area. You get 200 square inches to work with. Other tabletop models, and even one freestanding model, only provide between 140 and 180 square inches to grill.

We’ve been reviewing infrared grills since 2012. In that time, we’ve sifted through countless reviews, looked at manufacturer specifications and conducted hands-on testing. This year, we purchased or received all the grills on loan and tested them by cooking dozens of pounds of meat. We not only know how they all cook, but the components they use, the quality of their build and which ones provides the best overall cooking experience.

We also reached out to grilling experts and people who use grills regularly to see what they valued in an infrared grill. Antonio Lexerot of Salt Lake City is the chief caterer and member of a Utah outdoors club. They have biannual camps where Lexerot cooks all meals for dozens of people, almost exclusively on outdoor grills. He told us that steady heat distribution and consistency is key when using any grill. “The biggest thing I would look for is indirect heat that reduces the risk of charred food. Infrared ones are less likely to flare up and char your food,” Lexerot said.

But not everyone we talked to finds much value in an infrared grill. Jesse Johnson, a pitmaster for a competition BBQ team and member of the Utah BBQ Association expressed a preference for wood-burning grills. He told us that they add more flavor to the meat and enhance the overall grilling experience – something that gas powered or infrared grills can’t provide. Johnson stated, “The only reason I use an infrared grill is for searing, mostly steaks.” He also added that it’s all just personal preference, “If you can cook, you can cook on anything.”

During our testing phase, we used all of the infrared grills to cook several pounds of meat. And since we did our testing in a public place, we had several onlookers throughout the course of our testing. We encouraged them to inspect the grills, provide feedback and express which ones they would buy for themselves.

To measure heat consistency and distribution, we performed a number of tests. We timed how long it took to preheat each grill to 350 degrees after ignition. Another test was gauging if a grill would remain at the same temperature for long periods of time. We checked the temperature of each grill at seven, 14 and 21 minutes after preheating. We also timed how long it took each unit to return to temperature after we opened the lid for one minute. All of this data was compared, compiled and calculated into one heat consistency score.

Since we personally assembled all the grills, we also have a good grasp on the quality of parts, the quality of the build and the overall stability and durability of each grill. We took the general grilling experience we had into account, considering things such as flareups, ease of use and any frustrations or setbacks we experienced. All of these things were factored into the grilling experience and construction grades.

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